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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Appearing before a religious conference earlier this week, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) told the audience that as a child attending Sunday school she would baby-sit the children of migrant workers so that their older siblings could join their parents at work.

"I was fortunate that at an early age, through my church, I was given the opportunity to expand my horizons," Clinton told the 600 adults and teenagers attending the Sojourners "Covenant for a New America" conference.

Politically, the story served two purposes for the New York Democrat. It allowed her to promote a developing Democratic message tailored to the faith community that ties the party's "compassionate" legislative agenda directly to moral values. And, personally, it allowed Clinton to speak about her own spiritually. The latter is not new for the former first lady, but it is a theme we could hear more and more if she decides to run for president.

"She understands where the Democrats need to go in talking about values just as her husband understood it," said Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report. "And she is going to go there."

As a party, Democrats have struggled to appeal to so-called "values voters," but in recent years they have tried to reconnect with this segment of the electorate that began drifting to the Republican Party during the Vietnam War. (See CNN's John Roberts' and Claire Brinberg's reporting on the Democrats' outreach efforts below).

But on Tuesday night, Clinton knew her audience and she hit on most of her points. You see, Sojourners is an evangelical organization lead by Rev. Jim Wallis, a populist who uses his political savvy to promote his number one cause: ending poverty. And Clinton focused on that theme with sharp rhetoric. While she did not directly chastise Republicans for Congress' failure to increase the minimum wage, it was clear her criticism was directed at the GOP.

"People can talk all they want about how they want to be part of ending poverty, but if they don't see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears the stories of millions of Americans and their children who are not able to be lifted out of poverty, because the minimum wage doesn't pay enough," she said. "Don't let people get away with nice words." The audience erupted into applause.

While Clinton talked about the need to help establish decent housing, create good paying jobs and feeding the poor, she did not speak on the red hot social issues such as abortion or school prayer. Wallis told the Grind he believes the religious right has spent too much time focusing on these divisive issues and not enough effort seeking a solution to ending poverty. For Clinton, it is a difficult tight rope to walk as she continues to talk openly on faith and religion without speaking directly about the controversial social issues.

"There is a risk here for her," said John Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. "She may attract some support from people of faith, but may alienate some secular Democrats. That is where the balancing act comes in."

But like Rothenberg, Green believes that Clinton does "have some religious credentials."

Can Obama part the "red sea?"

Freshman Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) got rave reviews for his keynote address yesterday to the Sojourners conference and CNN's John Roberts and Claire Brinberg report on the Democratic Party's efforts to reconnect with "values voters."

"I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in people's lives," Obama said in his speech.

Since early last year, Democrats have reached out to religious leaders in an attempt to seek advice on how to promote their goals to people of faith. As CNN's Roberts notes "at stake is a huge swath of voters across the Midwest and through the South."

And Obama just might be the superstar emissary the party has been looking for to help them reconnect with these voters.See full transcript of the report

Homegrown help

In the latest sign Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is gearing up for a 2008 presidential run, the Tennessee Republican has hired Marcus Branstad to lead his political field operations in Iowa. Branstad will work for Frist's Volunteer PAC and focus on state races such as Rep. Jim Nussle's (R-Iowa) bid to become governor. He will also be charged with helping Frist connect with influential Iowa Republicans who will play a key role in helping choose the next GOP presidential nominee. Branstad is the son of former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R).

Sabo and Oxley to hang up their mitts

Longtime Congressional Baseball coaches, Rep. Martin Sabo (D-Minnesota) and Rep. Mike Oxley (R-Ohio), hang up their mitts tonight when the final out is called in the 45th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game. Former Major League Baseball stars Don Baylor and Paul Molitor are scheduled to attend a noontime pre-game reception in the Rayburn House Office Building several hours before first pitch is thrown out. Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET at RFK Stadium. Roll Call has more on this fierce rivalry in today's edition.

DAYAHEAD/Events making news today

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the White House this morning. Bush has a 9:50 a.m. ET meeting with Koizumi in the Oval Office. At 11:30 a.m. ET, Bush and Koizumi hold a news conference. President and Mrs. Bush then participate in a 7:20 p.m. ET photo opportunity with Koizumi before an 8:05 p.m. ET "Official Dinner" in the State Dining Room. Entertainment follows at 9:50 p.m. ET. Press Secretary Tony Snow holds a 12:50 p.m. ET on-camera briefing.

The Senate convened at 9:30 a.m. ET and will consider the Oman Free Trade Agreement. The House gavels into session at 10 a.m. ET and the focus will be on a resolution condemning the recent disclosure that the Treasury Department was collecting banking records to track terrorist funding.

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman was scheduled to visit the Saginaw Victory Center in Saginaw, Michigan at 9:15 a.m. ET to attend a small donor fundraiser. He then heads to Bay City, Michigan and then Midland, Michigan to attend similar fundraisers.

House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) holds an on-camera 10:30 a.m. ET press conference in the House Radio & Television Gallery.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) holds a 10:45 a.m. ET on-camera briefing in room H-206 of the Capitol. At 1:15 p.m. ET, Pelosi and fellow Democrats hold a news conference to criticize the GOP's stewardship of Congress in room H-204 of the Capitol.

POLITICAL HOT TOPICS

Compiled by Stephen Bach

CNN Washington Bureau

SCOTUS REJECTS TX REMAPPING CHALLENGE: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a broad challenge to Texas's controversial Congressional redistricting plan, giving a victory to the Republican Party and the architect of the plan, Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader. But at the same time, the court ruled that the Texas Legislature violated the Voting Rights Act in redrawing a particular district in southwestern Texas when it adopted the plan in 2003. The Legislature had carved up Laredo, removing 100,000 Mexican-Americans and adding an Anglo population from the Hill Country to shore up the faltering prospects of the Republican incumbent. The decision means that a Federal District Court in Texas will now have to redraw the boundaries of that district and the surrounding ones. New York Times: Justices Uphold Most Remapping in Texas by G.O.P.

WHAT THE DECISION MEANS: A Supreme Court decision Wednesday that largely upheld Texas' disputed congressional map is likely to provide a symbolic boost for Republicans, keep the Democratic goal of retaking the House elusive and ensure that the political legacy of former Rep. Tom DeLay will live on despite his downfall... The decision means that state legislators will have the ability to remap districts more than once every 10 years when census numbers change the allotment of House members based on population. But it was uncertain whether states would soon be altering the boundaries of congressional districts. Chicago Tribune: What remap ruling means to U.S. politics

NO SECRET U.S. WAS TRACKING THE MONEY: Ever since President Bush vowed days after the Sept. 11 attacks to "follow the money as a trail to the terrorists," the government has made no secret of its efforts to hunt down the bank accounts of Al Qaeda and its allies. But that fact has not muted the fury of Mr. Bush, his top aides and many members of Congress at the decision last week by The New York Times and other newspapers to disclose a centerpiece of that hunt... Speaking at a fund-raising event in St. Louis for Senator Jim Talent, Mr. Bush made the news reports his central theme. "This program has been a vital tool in the war on terror," Mr. Bush said. "Last week the details of this program appeared in the press... There can be no excuse for anyone entrusted with vital intelligence to leak it and no excuse for any newspaper to print it." New York Times: Behind Bush's Fury, a Vow Made in 2001

BUSH, GOP "WORKING TO FAN PUBLIC ANGER" OVER MEDIA LEAKS: President Bush rallied Republicans with another attack on the media last night, in remarks that highlighted efforts at the White House and on Capitol Hill to gain momentum from recent disclosures about classified programs to fight terrorism. Senior administration officials say the president was outraged by articles in the New York Times and other newspapers about a surveillance program in which the U.S. government has tapped international banking records for information about terrorist financing. But his comments at a Republican fundraiser in a St. Louis suburb yesterday, combined with new moves by GOP congressional leaders, showed how both are working to fan public anger and reap gains from the controversy during a midterm election year in which polls show they are running against stiff headwinds. Washington Post: Bush Seeks to Use Media Leaks to His Advantage

HASTERT WANTS A "FORMAL SCOLDING" FOR THE TIMES: House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said yesterday that the New York Times deserves to receive a formal scolding from Congress for publishing a report on a classified national security program. His comments were the opening salvo in a debate expected today in the House. "Loose lips kill American people," the Illinois Republican said. Many House Republicans agree with Mr. Hastert's sentiment, and plan to support a symbolic resolution criticizing "certain media organizations" for revealing details of the Bush administration's counterterrorism programs. Washington Times: Hastert aims to reprimand paper

VA EMPLOYEE HAD PERMISSION TO WORK FROM HOME: Lawmakers say they want to know whether a Veterans Affairs employee was being unfairly blamed for losing veterans' personal information, citing newly disclosed documents showing he had received permission to work on the data from home. "From the start, the VA has acted as if the theft was a PR problem that had to be managed, not fully confronted," said Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif. "They're trying to pin it on this one guy, but I think it's other people we need to be looking at."... According to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press, the VA data analyst faulted for losing personal data for up to 26.5 million veterans had the department's approval to access millions of Social Security numbers on a laptop from home. AP via Yahoo! News: VA worker had OK for data later stolen

SCREENERS "SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME LOOKING FOR LIGHTERS"... NOT BOMBS: The nation's aviation security chief says Congress should lift a ban on passengers carrying lighters on airplanes because screeners are spending too much time looking for lighters instead of bombs. "The lighter ban does not add to security anymore," Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley told USA TODAY on Wednesday. Forcing screeners to confiscate lighters at checkpoints "is a distraction from the serious nature of finding (bomb) components." Hawley said he has briefed lawmakers and "recommended they consider whether that ban needs to stay." USA Today: Lift airline ban on lighters, TSA urges

BOEHNER REFUSES TO BUDGE ON IMMIGRATION: The House majority leader yesterday refused to budge from demanding a strong border-security bill and would not embrace Senate talk of broad legislation that would trigger a guest-worker program and other immigration changes once the borders are secure. "I'm not going to negotiate this bill -- between the House and Senate -- through the press," Rep. John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said after he was asked repeatedly about recent Senate developments. Mr. Boehner said House leaders instead will continue their plan to hold hearings next month to highlight flaws in the Senate-passed immigration bill, which includes citizenship for millions of illegal aliens, and the strengths of the House bill, which focuses on securing the border and enforcing immigration laws. He said the hearings will, in part, "strengthen our hand as we go into these negotiations" with the Senate. Washington Times: Boehner stands ground on border-security position

LOTT LOOKING TO TAKE ON MCCONNELL? The prospect of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) returning to leadership next year is creating more and more buzz on and off Capitol Hill, Republican insiders say. The higher volume of talk has been fueled partly by his former aides who hold influential lobbying positions downtown, but prominent GOP insiders with no special allegiance to Lott say it extends well beyond his inner circle. Perhaps by coincidence, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has recently sought a more public leadership role, appearing more often before television cameras set up outside the GOP conference's Tuesday luncheons, and has otherwise made himself more available to the press. The Hill: Comeback talk creates Lott buzz

JACK-CONNECTED DOI OFFICIAL CHARGED: An Interior Department official who has acknowledged receiving meals and tickets to sporting events from former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been charged with filing a false financial disclosure report. Roger G. Stillwell, an employee of the department's Insular Affairs Office, was charged with a single misdemeanor count of making a false filing, according to papers filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Federal officials said he is expected to enter a guilty plea at a court appearance set for July 21 before Magistrate Deborah A. Robinson. Stillwell is an officer on the desk that handles the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory whose government hired Abramoff as a lobbyist. Washington Post: Official Charged in Abramoff Scandal

ALLEN FOE SAYS HE SAT OUT VIETNAM "PLAYING COWBOY AT A DUDE RANCH" IN NV: Republican Sen. George Allen attacked his Democratic challenger's opposition to a flag-burning amendment, and James Webb retaliated by calling Allen a coward who sat out the Vietnam War "playing cowboy at a dude ranch in Nevada." The statement by [strategist Steve Jarding,]a senior adviser to Webb, a decorated veteran and former secretary of the Navy, went to extraordinary lengths to question Allen's fortitude, even repeatedly using the middle name the senator detests and never uses, Felix... Allen adviser Dick Wadhams called Jarding's comments pathetic and said they raise questions about Webb's fitness for office. AP via Yahoo! News: Va. Senate race heats up over flag burning

"YOU SUCK," CLINTON STAFFER SAYS TO REID STAFFER: One of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's top aides unleashed a tirade at Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's team for snubbing the former first lady on her pet issue. Clinton's staffers were outraged earlier this week when they caught wind the Democratic leadership team - Reid (Nev.), Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) - had privately planned a high-profile news conference on her a plan to halt congressional pay raises until the federal minimum wage is increased. Miffed that they'd been left out of the loop, Camp Clinton managed to strong-arm Reid Tuesday morning into inviting her to the 2:15 p.m. press conference. But at 11 a.m. Reid's office told Clinton the event was moved to noon, leaving Clinton one hour to juggle her schedule to make the event. The snub spurred Clinton aide Laurie Rubiner to bark at a Reid staffer, "You suck!" and "How could you do this?" the Roll Call newspaper reported yesterday - an account confirmed by an eyewitness for The Post yesterday. New York Post: Fury as Hill is Snubbed

MUPPET PHOTO GETS NY'S FOSSELLA IN HOT WATER: Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I.) violated House rules by using at least three photos in campaign flyers and in free mailings to constituents - including a shot of the congressman with Muppet characters Elmo and Rosita. Fossella's staffers were required to sign forms certifying that any photos used in free congressional mailings would not be used in campaign literature. The photo showing Fossella with the furry, red Elmo and blue/green, Spanish-speaking Rosita appeared on his reelection Web site under the logo: "Re-Elect Congressman Vito Fossella." That same photo appeared in a taxpayer-financed constituent mailing that was distributed in early June across Staten Island and to the portion of southern Brooklyn that is part of Fossella's congressional district. The photo in the constituent mailing carried the headline: "Fossella Votes to Restore Funding for Sesame Street." New York Daily News: It's funny business in Muppet mailings

FLETCHER DRIVES TO WORK... ACROSS THE STREET: When Gov. Ernie Fletcher's day is over, he leaves his Capitol office, climbs into a Lincoln Town Car driven by a state trooper and returns to the Governor's Mansion which is just across the street. Meanwhile, his administration is encouraging Kentuckians to get out and walk more for their health. The Republican governor - a physician by training - makes no apologies for riding back and forth to work. "I think that's been a tradition for a long time," he said. "That's what security likes." But his do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do example irks some politicians. "I just think it's incredible," said Democratic state Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, a marathon runner and frequent critic of Fletcher. "The governor should practice what he's preaching. Otherwise it smacks of being hypocritical." AP via Yahoo! News: Ky. governor takes limo across the street